Syracuse Basketball: 7 transfers Orange should consider adding for 2020-21

Syracuse Basketball recently lost four players to the NCAA portal and really need to replenish their depth at guard. Who are potential transfer options for the Orange?

After having the 2019-20 season come to a sudden conclusion as a result of the coronavirus, Syracuse Basketball could take some solace in having done enough to win 18 games and likely having the majority of their roster coming back with the lone exception being perhaps Elijah Hughes. Hughes, who had a fantastic junior season, is a potential early NBA draft entrant although I believe there is a pretty good chance that the 6-6 forward returns to the team.

Now, however, coach Jim Boeheim has a lot of work on the recruiting trail with the departures of guards Brycen Goodine, Brendan Paul, Howard Washington, and Jalen Carey. While none of the exits necessarily move the needle in terms of production, the losses do leave the Orange with a depth issue in the backcourt. Goodine, perhaps being the most significant loss among the players who entered the transfer portal due to his potential, has transferred to Providence. There is also a belief that 6-7 forward Robert Braswell will follow suit and enter the transfer portal but he has yet to declare his intentions.

Where does all this leave the Orange? The good news is that SU will return starters Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard III. Girard took over the starting point guard spot, for Carey, after just two games and showed that the eye-popping numbers that he put up in high school were no fluke. The former three-star recruit finished the season with 12.4 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.4 treys, and 3.4 assists along with 1.9 turnovers.

Meanwhile, Boeheim is one of the best shooters in the ACC, leading the conference in 3-pointers made (97) and 3-point percentage (37%). But incoming freshman 6-4 combo guard Kadary Richmond, a consensus four-star recruit, is currently the only other player that can play either the 1 or 2.

While Boeheim doesn’t use a lot of players in his regular rotation, typically using just six players per game, having only three guards is problematic. SU does have at least three more scholarships available for the upcoming season and possibly two more if Braswell and Hughes bolt. So, with roster room available, who will the Orange go after now? It appears most likely that they will look to bring in a  few grad transfers as the Orange have already been linked to grad transfers Patrick Tape and Seth Towns Jr. Tape is a 6-11 center who sat out last season instead of playing his final campaign at Columbia, while Towns is a 6-7 wing who can shoot it.